


Foul!

by sunshinemellow



Category: Naruto
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Banter, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Football | Soccer, Snark, same age au, they are competitive and Angry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:01:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29552505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshinemellow/pseuds/sunshinemellow
Summary: Obito and Sasuke force their friends back into a soccer game long after they've all graduated. Kakashi and Sakura end up far more invested in winning than they expected to be.“So that’s how it’s going to be then,” he asked.Her green eyes flashed. “I don’t know what you mean, bandana man. I’d stop talking if I were you. It can be distracting and it seems like you need to pay closer attention.”His eyes narrowed at her. He decided to show no mercy. None at all.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura/Hatake Kakashi, Nohara Rin/Uchiha Obito
Comments: 22
Kudos: 117





	Foul!

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Obito shot Genma a sharp look. “It is only about the billionth time you’ve asked that question, and yes I am. They’re only a couple years younger than we are. They’ve been off the college circuit long enough to become old and decrepit just like us.”

Gai bounced the soccer ball enthusiastically against the sidewalk and they all cringed at the loud sound of plastic smacking concrete. “You must have faith in our history, dear Genma! We shall best them, whatever the cost!”

Genma grumbled something around his toothpick that sounded suspiciously like, “As long as it’s not another knee surgery.”

Kakashi sighed and ambled along towards the rear of the group. He adjusted the knot in his bandana at the back of his head to make sure it was secure. “And why is it so important that we beat them, Obito?”

“Because Sasuke—my cousin—has a stick shoved so far up his ass that I can see it at the back of his throat, and I’m ready to surgically extract it—”

Rin thumped Obito over the head and shot everyone in the group a blinding smile. “What Obito meant to say, in less vulgar terms, is that his younger cousin has been pestering him for quite some time about having a soccer match. Obito would like to win.”

Obito rubbed his head but shot Rin a sheepish and dopey grin. “Yeah, what she said.”

Kakashi rolled his eyes. “Didn’t they play for the same school we did? Shouldn’t we all be friends, going out for drinks, doing whatever socializing adults do?”

“The only thing Sasuke will be drinking is his own tears after— _OW!_ ”

Rin smiled. “If you want me to keep coming with you to family events, you’re going to need to avoid making your family hate me.”

They crested the hill and finally made it to the old practice fields tucked away behind their old alma matter. Kakashi felt a wave of memories wash over him—early mornings when their breath was foggy in the air, tired tendons flexing in his knees as he jogged warmup laps, taping up whatever injury he had at the moment while his teammates chatted around him. 

Kakashi blinked his thoughts away and focused on the small group in front of them. There was a man with spiky black hair and a sour expression who was obviously Obito’s cousin. He was leaning back against a blonde boy who was guzzling water and spilling it all over his shirt. There were two girls—one with vivid pink hair and another with long blonde hair that was tightly plaited against her head. Another boy with wild brown hair was lying on his back and tossing a ball up and down.

“You’re late,” Sasuke snapped. “As always.”

Obito puffed himself up and Kakashi released an internal sigh. So this is how it was going to be. “Surprising that you’re so eager to have your ass handed to you,” Obito snapped as Rin fixed a gentle but firm hand in the back of his shirt to hold him back.

The girl with pink hair perked up, obviously sensing a fight. “Sasuke, does your grandpa have a problem here—”

“We’re only like three years older than you,” Obito snapped. “And none of you have played for a university in years.”

“I would just like to say,” Genma interjected with his hands raised in peace, though his eyes were already roving up and down the blonde girl, “We’re all adults here, but I’m happy to be called grandpa if no one goes for my knees. I’ve had ACL surgery twice, and if one of you little fucks makes it a third time I’m suing for damages.”

The blonde girl shot Genma a sultry look when she caught him staring. “See something you like?”

Genma flushed a bit, but he just twirled his toothpick between his lips and gave her a roguish smirk. “I see a lot that I like.”

The pink-haired girl smacked the blonde on the arm. “Keep it in your pants, Pig. He’s the enemy.”

“I know,” the girl said in a stage-whisper as she continued to eye Genma. “Adds to the appeal.”

Obito looked scandalized. “Genma, this is serious. We are on _opposite teams_.”

“Uh huh,” Genma said, clearly not listening as he shot his new target a quick wink.

“Alright, come on,” Rin chirped, clearly sensing the beginnings of an argument. “Nice to see you again, Sasuke. We’re going to go warm up now.”

Rin latched firm hands on Genma and Obito’s arms and towed them off for a quick jog around the field. Kakashi fell into step behind them and Gai started to run next to him.

“My dear rival, would you like to do a quick race around the field?”

Kakashi felt his knees creaking with protest beneath him and shot Gai a quick eye crinkle. “I would, but we should conceal our strengths from our opponents. You should surprise them with your speed.”

Gai shot him a blinding smile. “Clever as always, my cunning foe!”

“When is Asuma getting here,” Kakashi called to Obito.

“He got here early,” Obito said over his shoulder. “He’s been warming up with their goalie.”

Kakashi squinted over at the two figures tossing a ball back and forth by the goal. One of them had trademark dark hair and pale skin. “Is that another one of your cousins? Why are there so many of you and why are you all so annoying?”

“He is not,” Obito snapped. “He just happens to look like we do. And there is a reasonable number of us in the world. Only Sasuke is annoying.”

Kakashi hummed disbelievingly but they finished their lap around the field in silence. They set up camp in a circle at the opposite end of the field from the other team and began to lace on their soccer gear.

“Do we really need to wear shin guards,” Genma complained. “I’m pretty sure mine are growing a fungus. Can’t we just play nicely with one another?”

“Try it and see what happens,” Rin said cheerfully.

Genma scowled at her but shoved the pieces of foam and plastic under his socks. “So what do we know about them?”

Obito’s eyes gleamed. “Well, Sasuke and his boyfriend Naruto are forwards, but they will blame each other for absolutely anything. We need to create dissent. The blonde girl you were acting disgusting with is Ino, and the boy with brown hair is Kiba. They play defense together, but they both have big tempers.”

Genma hummed appreciatively. “You all know how I feel about women with temp—”

“Shut up,” Obito snapped, throwing an old stinky sock at his head to silence him.

“What about the one with pink hair,” Kakashi asked.

“She is my _favorite_ ,” Rin said. “Obito and I went to one of her games when she was on the same team with Sasuke. She plays center-mid, and she has got one _hell_ of a kick. Her name is Sakura.”

Of course it was, Kakashi thought. “So who is going to be guarding who?”

Obito rubbed his chin in thought. “I know Kakashi used to be captain and whatever—” Kakashi snorted but Obito continued undeterred “—but I know them best. I think Genma should be on Kiba, Gai should be on Ino, Kakashi takes Sakura, and Rin and I will flip flop as defense between Naruto and Sasuke.”

“Fine with me,” Kakashi said.

As annoying and as petty as Obito was being about this match against his cousin, Kakashi was looking forward to playing a game of soccer with people who knew what they were doing. He still played in rec leagues with his friends on the weekends, but very rarely did they play anyone who had played in college, and even then it was usually only one or two people out of a whole team. Even if this was going to be a 5 vs. 5 match, he was still looking forward to it.

They finished stretching and passed a ball around amongst themselves to warm-up further. Kakashi felt the stiffness in his knees fade away as the blood began pumping through his legs. By the time Obito jogged over to argue about who got the kick-off with Sasuke, Kakashi was feeling a familiar electric flicker of anticipation in his stomach. He had used to live for this feeling.

He made his way to the middle of the field to get into his starting position. His eyes fixed on the pink-haired figure that stood in his mirrored position on the other side of the field. She was bouncing lightly on her toes, her green eyes stony with focus. Kakashi couldn’t help the small smile that unfurled underneath his bandana. The serious people very infrequently knew what to do with him. 

They started the game with Gai and Genma darting forward after the kick-off to probe the other team’s defenses. Kakashi followed them but lingered behind in case they needed to pass back to him. He felt a presence materialize at his side and looked down to find pink hair and gleaming green eyes that were fixed on the ball ahead of them.

“Hello,” he said nonchalantly.

Her gaze flashed to him for half a second with exasperation and mild disbelief. “Hi,” she said curtly, making it clear she would not be continuing their conversation.

“I’m Kakashi.”

She frowned, her eyes still fixed on Genma and Gai as they tried to worm their way past Kiba and Ino’s defense with very little success. “And we’re talking because…?”

“I think it is nice to get to know one’s neighbor. We’re going to be stuck to one another for the next hour or so.”

She jogged a little to the left, waiting for a pass from Ino and Kiba in case they managed to get possession of the ball. Kakashi followed like a shadow. “Well, Kakashi,” she said. “I don’t intend to be stuck to you for very long.”

“I—”

He was cut off when Ino flicked the ball to Sakura. He darted forward to pluck the ball from her feet, but she had already delivered a neat pass to Naruto where he was waiting on the wing. He whooped as he began to dash up the side of the field towards the goal. Sasuke streaked along in parallel on the other side of the field while Obito and Rin scrambled back to mount a defense. Kakashi ignored the irritating flicker of guilt in his chest as Obito yelled something obscene at him.

He took off running at a quick pace to provide back-up defense. He immediately felt a presence following him and matching his strides. He cast a look to the side and found Sakura smothering a smug smile as she tailed him. “So that’s how it’s going to be then,” he asked.

Her green eyes flashed. “I don’t know what you mean, bandana man. I’d stop talking if I were you. It can be distracting and it seems like you need to pay closer attention.”

His eyes narrowed at her. He decided to show no mercy. None at all.

The next ten or so minutes went civilly enough—they took passes from their teammates and managed to shield the ball from one another while sending it back out on new plays. Sure, there was little shouldering, but neither of them held onto the ball long enough for it to devolve into anything serious.

Kakashi dashed to get to a half-assed pass that Obito had only just managed to get through Naruto and Sasuke. He glanced up at the field before him and had a split-second decision— Gai and Genma were both covered, though they were trying to edge past their defenders. Sakura was planted in his path to the goal as she waited to see what he would do. He glanced at the stretch of field to the left of Sakura and decided now was the time for revenge. 

He jolted forward, running as quickly as he could through the small sliver of open space. His arms snapped up and down at his sides and his legs burned underneath him as he allowed his muscle memory to take over control of the ball. He heard a distant _holy fuck,_ and then then he had blurred past Sakura and between Ino and Kiba who were both far too slow in abandoning their posts at Genma and Gai’s sides to stop him. He broke his stride as the goalie rushed out to meet him and just _barely_ tapped the ball hard enough that it shot to the opposite corner of the goal.

He heard Obito and Rin howling their familiar victory screams as he keeled over, his breath rattling hard in his chest and his body pulsing with exertion from his sprint. He typically only had one or two of those mad dashes in him per game, but he had a feeling it was well worth it.

“What the _actual fuck_ ,” he heard a voice panting beside him. He glanced up and saw Sakura keeled over in a hunched position that matched his. Her face glowed with fury as she impatiently swiped her arm over her forehead to clear it of sweat. “How fast are you,” she hissed out between her gritted teeth.

He grinned behind his bandana, knowing full well that he would be paying dearly for the burst of speed with the burning stitch in his side. “I don’t know,” he managed between gasping breaths. “I might have told you if you had been willing to be a good neighbor.” 

Her face flushed a shade redder. “Oh,” she ground out. “It is so _on_.”

He shot her one last smile with his eyes and started hobbling back over to his end of the field where Obito was still whooping. Naruto jogged up to him for a high-five with a shit-eating grin on his face. “That was _insane_. You didn’t even have an opening but you’re so fast you _made_ it a—”

“Naruto,” Sasuke snapped. “Can you get back over here and stop complimenting the enemy.”

Naruto shot Kakashi one last toothy grin and trotted back over to where Sasuke and Sakura were eyeing Kakashi murderously. Kakashi just ambled over to his side where he was clasped in a big hug from Rin and Obito.

“I haven’t seen you do one of those since _college_ ,” Obito crowed. “Didn’t know you still had it in you, old man.”

Kakashi scowled and pressed a hand against his aching side. “None of us are even thirty,” he grumbled as he tried to slow his breathing.

“Do you want to play the way we used to,” Rin asked with a devious glint in her eyes. Kakashi considered her question.

Back in the day, he had been more of an offensive midfielder. He would use his speed to create opportunities for himself, and Rin or Obito would slide up from their defensive position to slot into midfield while he made his attempt to score a goal. It was a little risky—it left an unguarded forward from the other team next to their own goal— but as long as the turn-around wasn’t too quick they were able to scramble back and meet the return play.

Kakashi glanced back over at the other team and caught the flashing green of Sakura’s eyes. She watched him intently, a new tension in her body. What she was saying without words came across very clearly—he would not be allowed to do that again.

Which meant he absolutely had to try it again.

He turned back to Obito and Rin. “Sure,” he said.

They assembled back in their old formation on the starting line for the kick-off. Sakura had switched from glowering at Kakashi to pretending he didn’t exist. Her eyes remained fixed on the ball where Naruto and Sasuke stood. Something seemed off though—she was standing a little far back, wasn’t she? Usually the midfielders stood closer to the forwards on a kick-off. Kakashi forced himself to focus and tore his eyes away from her. He felt almost childish for wanting her attention.

Naruto started by tapping the ball to Sasuke, who immediately swiveled and passed it back to Sakura. Kakashi blinked in surprise as she started bolting full-steam at the ball. There’s no way she was going to just shoot it. Her teammates weren’t even on the other side of—

His train of thought snapped off abruptly as he watched Sakura lean back with remarkable control given that she had been booking it in a full run. Her right leg swung absurdly far behind her as she planted her left foot for balance. The sound of her foot finally hitting the ball when it swung back down was a crack like a gunshot.

Leaning back had given her just the right amount of lift. The ball whistled over their heads, and Kakashi watched in absolute horror and disbelief as it curved downwards and neatly dropped into one of the corners of their goal while Asuma stumbled backwards in surprise.

“ _Hooooooolyyy fuck,”_ Kakashi distantly heard Obito bellow from the other end of the field.

He turned back to look at Sakura and found her eyes already locked on him, triumph burning fiercely in her face as Naruto thumped her on the back hard enough that she stumbled. Kakashi just stared, something like excitement unfurling in his chest as she watched him. There was something _thrilling_ about Sakura.

He barely registered Obito storming past him. “That is _cheating_ ,” he shouted at Sasuke, who had an expression on his face that reminded Kakashi of a very smug cat.

“Oh really,” Sasuke drawled. “I haven’t heard about any rules prohibiting someone scoring from the half line.

“See what I meant,” said a new voice at his side. Kakashi looked down to find Rin watching Sakura with glowing eyes. “One _hell_ of a kick. It’s like monstrous strength.”

Kakashi snorted. “That’s one way of putting it.”

“The control too? Scary.”

Kakashi grunted. He couldn’t help but agree as he watched Sakura stare down Obito with Sasuke.

“That is not fair,” Obito was yelling, gesticulating wildly. “What, are we going to spend the next hour letting Sakura score over and over again from behind the halfway line?”

“I can’t do it every single time,” Sakura snapped. “It’s like one in three. And I’m not just going to sit back here like a pinball machine and do it over and over. I was making a _point_.” 

“And what point is that,” Obito seethed.

“That Kakashi is an obnoxious little shit!”

Genma guffawed from where he was standing off to the side and chatting with Ino. “Excellent point! I’m with you on that one,” he called loudly while Obito glared. He shot Kakashi a knowing smirk. “She sure has you pegged, pal.”

“I’ll agree that Kakashi is obnoxious—”

“Thanks a lot, captain,” Kakashi said dryly while Obito shot him a nasty look for interrupting.

“But we would appreciate it if you allowed us to play _actual_ soccer instead of sitting back here like some sniper.”

Sakura rolled her eyes. “I’ll consider it. It’s your kick-off.” She flicked the ball up with her foot and dumped it into Obito’s arms before turning back around to stomp to her end of the field. Obito glared after her and shuffled back over to his side, tossing the ball to Gai.

“Aww,” Rin cooed as Obito approached. “Did poor Obito get told off by the mean girl?”

“Yes,” he said stiffly, slipping his hand into Rin’s as she led him back to their positions closer to the goal. “Give her hell, Kakashi,” he said over his shoulder.

Kakashi’s eyes were already focused on Sakura, her hip cocked to the side and an eyebrow raised at him in challenge. “I certainly will,” he mumbled under his breath.

They spent the next thirty minutes of the game being incredibly petty. Kakashi abused his speed advantage whenever he could, trying to create distance that would allow him to dart past her. He managed it quite a few times, and whenever she caught up with him she would fix him with a vicious stare that he was beginning to thoroughly enjoy.

She quickly found that the solution to his speed was planting herself resolutely at his side and trailing him so that he had no time or space to try and make another break. She was frustratingly excellent at snatching the ball from him whenever she was near enough to do so. They had both abandoned all pretense of civility and had started jarring each other with their shoulders whenever either of them got the ball.

Kakashi allowed himself to drift a little too far away from Sakura in anticipation of getting a pass from Obito. Instead, Sasuke snagged the ball from Obito’s feet mid-juke and passed it back to Sakura. Kakashi darted forward to reach her, and just as she had pulled her foot back to take a shot at the goal, he rammed the side of his shoulder into hers.

Kakashi realized with belated horror that he had shouldered Sakura much in the same way he would have shouldered Obito, who was much taller and heavier than Sakura. He had also managed to do it while she was on one foot and off-balance halfway through a kick. The end result was that Sakura went flying through the air. She landed in a sprawled heap on the ground several feet away.

“Oh no,” he said stupidly, processing the fact that he had sent her careening through the air like a rag doll and hoping she hadn’t broken any bones.

Sakura hauled herself up. She was covered in smeared grass strains and her green eyes were incandescent with fury. He quickly decided she was absolutely fine and that he should be more concerned for himself. “Oh no is right,” she snapped. “You’re lucky you’re fast—”

“Foul! Foul! Foul!” Naruto started howling like a hyena somewhere in the background while Ino swore at Kakashi prolifically.

“That wasn’t a foul,” Sasuke snapped. “Just because she went airborne doesn’t make it a foul. The shoulder drop was legal.”

Sakura blinked and spat a wad of grass from her mouth. “Then that means the ball is still in play.”

She and Kakashi looked at each other for a moment before they both lunged for the ball. They reached it at the same time and she dropped her shoulder hard into his side in a vicious way that screamed _payback_. He stumbled with a small _oof_ and then she was gone, two steps past him before she took her shot. There was the _crack_ of her foot meeting the ball, and then the ball was buried in the back of the net.

She turned and stuck out her tongue at him.

“You still have grass in your mouth,” he said blandly.

She let out a small _eep_ and clapped her hands over the lower half of her face. She gave him a searing look before stomping back over to her side with her hands still clasped to her face. Kakashi had to smother a small smile.

“Okay,” Asuma yelled before they could start setting up again. “I think now is a natural point for a halftime break.”

Everyone grunted in agreement and shuffled off to their respective sides. Kakashi followed his friends to their bags and collapsed onto the grass. He fished a granola bar out of a side pocket of his bag and nibbled it under his bandana while Obito got himself worked up about being one goal behind. Rin settled herself down beside Kakashi and jabbed him on the arm.

“So Sakura is fun, isn’t she?”

Kakashi shot Rin a suspicious look from the corner of his eye. “Mildly. When she isn’t trying to kill me. Why do you ask?”

Rin just smirked and shrugged innocently. “No reason. You two just seem to have something… personal going on.”

“Yes, she did seem personally offended after I sent her soaring through the air like a frisbee.”

“Well, maybe getting to know her better might be fun—”

“And Genma,” Obito bellowed suddenly. Both Rin and Kakahsi startled at the sudden increase in volume. “Why aren’t you ever where you’re supposed to be? You keep drifting over to Gai’s side where you’re of no use!”

“Gai’s side is where the hot blonde women are. I’m sorry, did I not make it abundantly clear when I arrived that my knees are shot to hell and that I would be taking exactly _none_ of this seriously—”

“Rin and I are busting our asses trying to keep my asshole cousin and his traffic cone boyfriend away from our goal while you just loaf around!”

Genma flapped his hand at Obito and fished a tangerine out of his bag. “Don’t worry, Kakashi will keep scoring. He has to score more goals to impress that angry girl. I’m being a good friend by staying out of his way.”

Kakashi shot Genma a withering look. “Thanks, Genma.”

Genma peeled a piece of skin off his tangerine and flicked it at him. “You’re welcome.”

Obito spun back around to face Kakashi. “And you—you should have sent her _further_. She bounced back up like it was nothing!”

Kakashi stared, unimpressed. “You’re telling me I should have knocked her further than the good four feet she ended up flying.”

Obito waved his hands wildly. “Yes! Send her to the fucking moon for all I care! If Sasuke wins this, he is going to be _insufferable_ for the next decade. I do not want to live through that decade.”

“Nice,” Kakashi said, going back to his granola bar and deciding to tune Obito out completely. “After the next kick-off I’ll make sure to snap her spine. Did you want it done in halves or thirds?”

Obito glowered. “Is this all just a big joke to you? Is my happiness a joke to you?”

“Quite frankly, yes—”

“Ooookayyyy,” Rin sang, cutting into their bickering before it became a real argument. “Excellent points, Obito, but let’s spend the rest of our break _resting_.”

They spent the rest of halftime chewing their respective snacks in grumpy silence before they saw the other team setting up again. Kakashi hauled himself up with a sigh and jumped up and down a few times to clear the lingering stiffness from his knees.

When they started again, Kakashi found himself back at Sakura’s side. She had a thunderous expression on her face as she studiously ignored him. He noted a small red scuff on the side of her cheek and a small dusting of freckles sprinkled over the bridge of her nose. He realized that in the process of trying to knock one another over, he had neglected to realize that she was really quite pretty.

“Cut it out,” she snapped. “You can try and freak me out all you want by staring, but you’re not getting in my head.”

He blinked. She shot him a vicious glare with eyes that were very _green_ and he smiled back sheepishly. “You’re very competitive, aren’t you?”

He followed her a few paces to the left as she watched Sasuke and Naruto try to make it past Obito and Rin. “And you aren’t?” she shot back. “You’ve been making yourself a real pain in the ass.”

“Fair enough,” he acquiesced. “I can’t stand losing.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “Are you trying to set yourself up for some cheesy comeback? Do you really want me to say _you better get used to it_ or something else equally cringey?”

He chuckled. “You can use all the cheesy lines you want, but we’re going to be winning this game.”

She scowled at him and his eyes unconsciously drifted to her lips. They were quirked down in displeasure. “I’d like to see you try, asshole,” she snapped.

Then the ball was coming towards them and they were both trying to ram each other out of the way in their haste to get to it first. It had been a long, _long_ time since Kakashi had flirted with anyone and as he felt Sakura’s shoulder jabbing his ribs, he wondered if he might be going about it the wrong way.

* * *

There were ten minutes left in the game, and tempers were running high. Kakashi had managed to score another goal after a particularly cheeky feint he had used to get past Sakura. He hadn’t been able to stop himself from being smug about it. They were now tied, and both he and Sakura were getting more and more aggressive about trying to get past one another to score a winning goal. They’d almost had a repeat of her flying through the air, but she had been on stronger footing when he shouldered her and had only skidded to the side.

Kakashi was blown away by how much fun he was having. He typically looked forward to their weekend soccer games, but this was an entirely different level. He was feeling the fierce joy of actual competition, and as angry as Sakura was acting, he could see the pleasure of it in her eyes too.

“I’m having fun,” he observed during a lull while Naruto and Sasuke tried to angle their way past Rin and Obito. He turned to Sakura “Are you having fun?” he asked.

He watched a corner of her lips twitch as though she were suppressing a smile. “No,” she snapped, even as her eyes sparked with amusement.

“I understand,” he said very seriously. “I also would not be having very much fun if I were being knocked around by someone much taller and faster than me.”

She turned to him with fury written into every line of her face. He tried not to focus on how good it made her look. “That’s really funny, because the last time I checked, we were tied. Funny how being taller and faster hasn’t done much for you.”

“So you I admit I’m taller and faster?”

“No—yes! Shut up!” She scowled up at him as if trying to figure out a way to argue her way around their objective height difference. “I’m stronger,” she snapped. “And I have better control.”

He grinned down at her. “You definitely are, and you definitely do. But we’re still going to win.”

“We’ll see,” she said darkly, turning back to focus on the game.

Suddenly he saw his moment. Rin had just neatly snatched the ball out from under Sasuke, and before he could even think, he was sprinting away from Sakura in a horizontal line to get within Rin’s line of sight. She passed it to him and as soon as he felt the ball touch his feet he was off and running as hard as he could down the line of the field.

He heard Obito and Rin cheering him on distantly behind the roaring of blood in his ears. Just as he was starting to get closer and closer to the goal— his adrenaline-filled mind sharp with focus— he felt himself trip over a sudden barrier that had slid directly into his way. The ball spiraled away from him, and then he hazily registered the sense of being airborne, of twisting through the air with all the gathered momentum of his sprint, before landing hard on his side. The air rushed out of him in a sharp _whoosh_. The world around him erupted into yelling as he gaped like a fish trying to get air back into his suddenly empty lungs.

_“Foul! Foul! Foul!”_

_“Oh shut up, Obito! That was vicious but clean—”_

_“I haven’t seen a slide tackle like that in **years**!”_

_“Is he okay?”_

_“Who cares, that was incredible!”_

Kakashi blinked as he felt himself being rolled over onto his back. He winced and tried to take in another breath, his lungs still feeling startlingly empty. It had been a very long time since he had gotten the air knocked out of him like this and he knew he just had to wait it out while his body recalibrated. He focused his mind and then realized he was staring up into concerned green eyes.

“That’s right, just take in another breath. You just got the wind knocked out of you.”

He blinked and opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a pathetic croak. He felt a surprisingly tender hand press itself against his forehead.

“What are you doing,” he heard Obito’s voice snap somewhere in the background. “Here to finish him off?”

“Pipe down,” Sakura snapped. “I’m in medical school. I’m the one most qualified to make sure he isn’t dying.”

“If he dies it will be because you killed him! We’ll press charges on his behalf!”

Sakura sighed and her eyes returned to Kakashi’s. He stared up at her. Now that she was this close, he could see the thin, nearly invisible line of a small scar in her eyebrow. He reached up to trace it with the tip of his finger.

He saw surprise spiral across her face and he immediately let his hand drop. He decided that he had lost his entire fucking mind in the novelty of having been knocked over for the first time in years. “Oops,” he finally managed to wheeze.

“Oops,” she echoed, something like amusement shining in her eyes. “It’s been awhile since I’ve done a slide tackle. I didn’t mean to knock you over.”

“I suppose I deserve it,” he sighed. “It was actually kind of fun.”

She grinned. “Glad to hear it.” She rocked back on her heels and extended her arm to him. “Ready to get up?”

He eyed her hand dubiously. “Not particularly.”

She rolled her eyes. “We’re going to need to get out the way so our friends can finish their game. Obito’s girlfriend managed to drag him off, but he’ll probably come back around if you don’t start showing signs of life soon. It really was a pretty spectacular fall.”

Kakashi huffed and latched onto Sakura’s hand. She pulled him up with surprising strength and he stumbled. She quickly pressed against his side and looped his arm over her shoulder for support. She led him off to the side of the field while everyone clapped in a mockery of the serious clapping that was usually done when someone was injured. Kakashi heard Genma whooping and frowned.

“My friends are annoying,” he said.

Sakura grinned up at him from his shoulder. “Well, you’re plenty annoying yourself.”

He considered that for a moment. “Fair enough.”

Sakura led him over to the circle of bags where his team had set-up camp. He sank down to the ground by his bag and fished in it for his water bottle. “So you’re in medical school?”

She blinked down at him and then lowered herself so that she was sitting beside him. Kakashi mused that it was interesting that they had both stopped caring about the outcome of the game that they had previously been deeply invested in.

“I’m surprised you remember,” she said. “I guess that rules out a concussion. And what do you do?”

He waved his hand as he took a long gulp of water. “General good for nothing vagabond. Drain on society. The usual.”

She grinned. “Are you just not telling me because you’re a private person? Is that why you still refuse to take off your bandana even after having the wind knocked out of you?”

He shrugged but smothered a small smile as he fished his kt tape out of his sports bag. “You don’t think I’m telling the truth?”

She eyed him thoughtfully. “I think anyone with the discipline to get as good at soccer as you are would not amount to being a vagabond.”

He shrugged out of his shirt and watched as her face flushed pink. He smothered a small smirk as he flicked up the edge of his kt tape and unrolled some. “Maybe I’m just a disciplined vagabond.”

She rolled her eyes and ignored him. “You know kt tape doesn’t actually do anything for injuries. It is all just pseudo-science to sell more products to injured people.”

“I also don’t do anything. I buy it in solidarity.”

She laughed but thrust out her palm. “If you insist on applying a good-for-nothing product, at least allow me to apply it properly. It’s my fault you landed on your side.”

He blinked at her and considered refusing. She was smiling easily, her face flushed with the warm glow of exercise and endorphins, strands of hair unraveling from her ponytail and stuck to her neck in a light sheen of sweat. She had smelled like clean laundry and salt when she dragged him off the field. Before he could talk himself out of it, he scooted himself over to her and placed the tape in the palm of her hand.

He felt her warm, deft fingers flexing his elbow and brushing part of his bandana to the side so that she could start a line of tape at the base of his neck. “I meant it,” he said as she drew the tape down his skin. “When I said I was having fun earlier.”

He risked a glance to the side and found her smiling. “Oh really?”

“Mhm.”

“Well,” she whispered conspiratorially. “I was having fun too.”

“I think we should do this again.”

“Try and knock each other over for an hour while our friends yell at us?”

His mouth went dry but he forced himself onwards. “I was thinking more like food. Dinner maybe.”

Her fingers paused in the process of laying down more tape. He forced himself to keep looking straight ahead.

“Are you asking me on a date, vagabond?”

He turned and looked at her. Her eyes were gleaming, and she had a small, mischievous smile playing at the edges of her lips. He groaned and pressed his free hand to his face. “Not if you’re going to be mean about it.”

She just laughed as she pressed down the last piece of kt tape. “I will happily go on a date with you in exchange for one favor.

He eyed her warily as he rolled his shoulder experimentally. “What favor? We barely even know each other.”

“I want a peek beneath the bandana.”

He scowled as he shrugged into a fresh shirt from his sports bag. “Are you just asking because you’re afraid that I’m unattractive beneath it? Because that is rather shallow.”

She laughed. “God no. You were shirtless while I was taping your shoulder—trust me, I’m well aware of how attractive you are. I’m just curious. I’ll go on the date either way, but I’m using my leverage while I have it.”

He flushed. “Fine,” he snapped. “One peek.”

“One peek,” she agreed.

He turned to her and looked furtively from side to side before lifting his bandana to the side. Her eyes blew wide and a slow grin unfurled on her face. “Very, very nice,” she said.

He glared, ignoring the small feeling of smug pleasure flickering in his chest. He was just lowering his bandana back down when she darted forward. He sat frozen in surprise as she pressed a light kiss just at the corner of his mouth, lips warm and soft before she drew back just as quickly as she had leaned in.

“Sorry for knocking you over, Kakashi,” she said sweetly, a teasing light in her eyes.

He blinked, feeling thoroughly shell-shocked as he finished drawing the bandana back down. He licked his lips and caught a brief taste of something like strawberry chapstick on the side of his mouth.

“No problem,” he said weakly.

_“ASSHOLE!”_

He and Sakura both jumped and turned to see Obito and Sasuke screaming at each other while Rin and Naruto watched together somewhat sheepishly. Genma came over to join Kakashi and Sakura and threw himself down by his bag with a sigh.

“Imagine caring that much about something,” he grumbled, taking a long swig from his water bottle.

“Who won?” Sakura asked.

“After you two and your freaky little ‘I need to win’ sexual tension left the field, things pretty much plateaued.”

Kakashi coughed on his drink of water while Sakura flushed. “So it was a tie?”

“Yup,” Genma said, miming the action of calling a phone at Ino while she dug her own water bottle out of her own bag at the other end of the field. “They want a rematch again next week.”

Kakashi looked over at Sakura and found her grinning. “I’m not opposed.”

He smiled. Neither was he.

**Author's Note:**

> do i like how this turned out? this is the question i ask myself every single time i produce something, but this time it was a resounding NO! i am posting anyways to spite myself. writing sports is HARD! mad props to anyone who writes sports AUs! this was born bc @bluntkunai talked to me about soccer for like 20 seconds and it infected my entire brain. hope u enjoyed!


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